Chapter 1: Sustainability, Growth, and Globalization: Perspectives, Speculation, and Reality

This volume of the International Social Studies Forum book series presents chapters and presentations from the Social Science Education Consortium’s annual meeting held in Monteverde, Costa Rica during June 2012. The theme of the conference centered on issues regarding sustainability, growth, and globalization as viewed from a social science perspective.

Founded in 1963, SSEC’s mission is to:

The members of SSEC represent leading social scientists and social studies educators.

Monteverde, Costa Rica is a small mountain town located in the Puntarenas region of Costa Rica. It is about a four drive from the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. Home to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve it is a major center of ecotourism and a living laboratory for Costa Rican efforts in putting into practice sustainable economic and social constructs. Its small size, population, estimated at 6,500 that includes the surrounding town of Santa Elena, and relative isolation, has not diminished an increasing number of tourists, estimated at 250,000 per year from visiting (Greenspan, 2012).